CO2, CH4 and N2O flux through a Wyoming snowpack and implications for global budgets (original) (raw)

Nature volume 361, pages 140–142 (1993) Cite this article

Abstract

INCREASING atmospheric concentrations of the three main greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide— account for about 70% of anticipated global warming1, but the production–consumption budgets are not balanced for any of these gases2. Snow can cover between 44 and 53% of the land area of the Northern Hemisphere3 and may be several metres deep in alpine and sub-alpine regions for more than half the year. Most trace-gas budgets assume that trace-gas exchange stops when soil is snow covered or soil temperatures drop to ~0°C (refs 4,5). Thus alpine and sub-alpine soils are generally considered to be net sinks for atmospheric CO2. Some reports6,7, however, suggest that soil microorganisms beneath the snow continue to respire at temperatures close to 0 °C. Here we present evidence that the soils under alpine and sub-alpine snowpacks emit CO2 and N2O and take up atmospheric CH4 throughout the snow-covered period. These fluxes represent an important part of the annual trace-gas budget for these ecosystems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. USDA Forest Service, 240 West Prospect Road, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80526, USA
    R. A. Sommerfeld & R. C. Musselman
  2. USDA Agricultural Research Service, PO Box E, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80522, USA
    A. R. Mosier

Authors

  1. R. A. Sommerfeld
  2. A. R. Mosier
  3. R. C. Musselman

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Sommerfeld, R., Mosier, A. & Musselman, R. CO2, CH4 and N2O flux through a Wyoming snowpack and implications for global budgets.Nature 361, 140–142 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/361140a0

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